Skyrim Alive
by Nessax511
Summary: Wood Elf race. Most accurately, this story is the game in story form; it follows game story line and game dialogue (with some tweaks). Rated mature since the game is rated mature. Spoilers, obviously...
1. Pilot

"Hey, you," I heard a strong, deep voice say. "You're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right," the man asked. I managed a weak nod while my eyes adjusted to afternoon light breaking through the tree. "Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there."

"Damn you Stormcloaks!" The thief spat at the other man's feet. "Skyrim was fine until you came along - Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and been half way to Hammerfell." The thief turned to me. "You and me – we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief," the other man chimed.

"Shut up back there!" The Imperial Soldier who was driving the carriage shouted over his shoulder.

"The names Lokir. And what's wrong with him," the thief asked after looking the gagged man over.

"Watch your tongue! You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King," the man with the deep voice declared. "And I am one of his loyal followers – Ralof."

"Ulfric," Lokir murmured. "The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion!" Realization dawned on him. "But if they captured you - Oh gods, where are they taking us?"

Ulfric. The name sounded familiar to me but I could not place where I had heard it; perhaps I had heard it at a pub? I vaguely remember a group from a nearby table discussing politics but the subject bored me and I turned my attention elsewhere.

"I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits," Ralof said and glanced at Ulfric.

"No, this can't be happening. This isn't happening." Lokir slouched in disbelief, as if his life flashed before his eyes.

"What village are you from, horse thief," Ralof asked.

"Why do you care," Lokir retorted.

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home," Ralof said, oddly at peace.

"Rorikstead. I'm... I'm from Rorikstead," Lokir replied.

Ralof was just turning to me to speak when the carriage rolled out into the sunlight from the shadowed path. Each of us squinted momentarily as we looked around at the villagers standing on their decks looking back out upon us.

Imperial Soldiers stood in orderly fashion near an executioners block. The headsmen, with his large axe, stood next to them quietly and still, his hand clenched around the neck of the axe. A soldier could be heard barking out orders.

"Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, please help me," Lokir cried out to the gods.

"Look at him, General Tullius the Military Governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves. I bet they had something to do with this," Ralof hissed and then paused to think. "This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. Wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in. Funny...when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe."

I rolled my eyes and wondered if Ralof, one of the Rebellion leader's followers found peace in monologues– as if talking until his death made his life that more memorable.

"Who are they, daddy? Where are they going?" A child's voice came from behind me and I craned my neck to see who it was.

"You need to go inside, little cub." The man, who I assumed was the father, was gruff and rigid.

"Why? I want to watch the soldiers," the son said in a pleading voice.

"Inside the house," the father said sternly. "Now."

"Whoa," I heard, bringing my attention back to the situation before me. The carriage came to a stop and the soldier driving climbed down to join the others.

"Why are they stopping," Lokir asked, beginning to panic.

"Why do you think," Ralof asked. "End of the line. Let's go. Shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us."

"No! Wait! We're not rebels!" Lokir pleaded with the soldiers as he followed Ralof down off the back of the carriage.

"Face your death with some courage, thief," Ralof huffed and took in a deep breath to look at ease and confident.

"You've got to tell them! We weren't with you! This is a mistake!" Lokir hissed.

"Step toward the block when Hadvar calls your name. One at a time," the Imperial Captain commanded.

"Empire loves their damn lists," Ralof said to himself and chuckled.

"Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm," Hadvar called and, on cue, Ulfric made his way over to the block.

"It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric," Ralof said and stood tall with honour.

"Ralof of Riverwood. Lokir of Rorikstead," Hadvar continued.

"No, I'm not a rebel! You can't do this," Lokir shouted and with one last ditch effort he tried to make a break for the woods.

"Halt," the Imperial Captain shouted after Lokir.

"You're not going to kill me," Lokir shouted back. It was like the reality of death had made Lokir turn mad. There was no escaping this many soldiers while bound.

"Archers," The Captain called with a sigh. She obviously had this problem many other times and was accustomed to escapees.

With one shot to the back of the chest, Lokir went down face first into the dirt path. At first glance, the archer looked as though he tried to kill Lokir first shot, having only missed his heart by an inch. As a fair skilled archer myself, I realized shortly thereafter that the archer had shot there purposefully to only puncture his lung. The internal bleeding would soon flood his lung and drown him. Imperials seemed harsh.

"Anyone else feel like running," the Captain asked sarcastically and motioned her hand along the line of prisoners, as if offering the opportunity.

"Wait, you there," Hadvar interrupted, pointing at me. "Step forward. Who are you," he asked.

"Celestria Ruthilde," I lied.

"Not many wood elves would choose to come alone to Skyrim," Hadvar stated.

A knowing smirk came to my lips and I shrugged sheepishly.

"Captain, what should we do? She's not on the list," he said while rechecking the list to make certain for sure.

"Forget the list. She goes to the block," the Captain replied.

"By your orders, captain," Hadvar said and gave me an empathetic look. "I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Valenwood. Follow the captain, prisoner."

Our eyes lingered on each other for a second longer before I joined back with the line of prisoners awaiting the executioners block.

"Ulfric Stormcloak," the name lingered on the lips of the man Ralof had pointed out as General Tullius. "Some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne."

Ulfric protested against the gag in his mouth to no avail. Despite his continued protesting, General Tullius began to mock him. "You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos and now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace." His smirk was sickening, even to myself who had no affiliation with the Stormcloaks.

At that moment, a low rumble sounded out from the edges of the distant mountains. It sounded as if a piece of the mountain had collapsed and caused an avalanche, which would account for the low vibrations in the ground.

"What was that," Hadvar asked, only slightly concerned.

"It's nothing. Carry on," Tullius commanded.

"Yes, General Tullius," the captain complied. She then turned to the priestess of Arkay and said, "Give them their last rites."

The priestess nodded and began, "As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the salt and earth of Nirn, our beloved—"

"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with," one of the Stormcloak prisoners interrupted loudly and stepped forward to the executioners block.

"As you wish," the priestess said.

"Come on, I haven't got all morning. My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" The prisoner was brought to his knees and he willingly leaned down to lay his head on the block.

A look of peace and a smile across his lips remained plastered to his face as the axe came down and cleanly sliced through his neck. His head rolled into the basket and his body fell limply off the block onto the ground. Stunned silence did not accompany the act, but shouts of protest and anger.

"You Imperial bastards!" One of the Stormcloak soldiers in the line of prisoners shouted mercilessly and spat at the ground.

Shouts of victory from Imperial lovers drowned out the Stormcloaks attempts at eliciting some kind of sympathy from onlookers.

"As fearless in death as he was in life," Ralof said simply, ignoring the verbal fight between Stormcloaks and imperials.

"Next," the captain shouted out, calming the cries for justice. "The wood elf!"

As I took a step out from the line of prisoners, the ground beneath my feet began to shake with the same vibrations as before and the same rumble bellowed out from beyond Helgen's walls, this time much closer and growing in pitch.

"There it is again. Did you hear that," Hadvar gasped and looked a little more frantic than his first response to the noise. Others nodded and looked to the skies for answers with him.

"I said, next prisoner," the captain yelled.

My attention fought between searching with the others for the source of the impending doom and my inevitable death just before me.

"To the block, prisoner. Nice and easy," Hadvar said cautiously.

The soldier behind me pushed me to my knees and I could feel his heavy foot come upon my back to force me onto the block. I'd like to say my life flashed before my eyes with tender moments and heartfelt regrets, but all I could think of was the search for adventure that had brought me to Skyrim in the first place. Ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time was not the adventure I had had in mind. My mother's words came to mind as I closed my eyes, readying myself for death to come. _"Your father's undoing will be your undoing."_ Her voice was cold and distant.

I heard the breath catch in the headsmen chest as he lifted the axe over his shoulder. It seemed as if the crowd went silent and all I could hear was the quiet breath finally escape the headsmen chest.

"What in Oblivion is that?" General Tullius' voice rang out in fear.

"Sentries! What do you see?" The captain's voice.

My concentration on the axe was broken as the ground began to shake violently and I felt the wind of the axe as it whipped past my ear. The rumble of minutes past was now an ear-piercing roar and only yards from my head. My eyes snapped open and I turned my head towards where the noise came from. The first thing to enter my vision was the axe only an inch from my face but my attention instantly went beyond the razor sharp blade to the giant black lizard peering down on the soldiers below.

"Dragon," one of the soldiers cried out.

The headsmen, who had tumbled to the ground, tried to climb back to his feet in his disorientation when the dragon opened his mouth and something like a crack of thunder came from deep within. The headmen seemed to be thrust backwards while the sky above seem to darken within seconds.

" _Am I dreaming?"_ Was the only thing I could think as General Tullius started shouting out commands.

"Don't just stand there, kill that thing! Guards, get the townspeople to safety!"

"Hey, wood elf! Get up! Come on, the gods won't give us another chance," Ralof's voice came through the ringing in my ears and I could feel his strong hands pulling me to my feet. "This way."

I shook the dream feeling from my body, knowing that whether or not this was a dream, I had to survive. I decided that following Ralof was perhaps my best chance at surviving so I followed close behind. He entered into one of the Helgen towers where he met up with Ulfric.

"Jarl Ulfric! What is that thing? Could the legends be true," he asked and glanced back out to the destruction ensuing.

"Legends don't burn down villages," Ulfric said somberly. "We need to move, now!"

"Up through the tower. Let's go! This way, friend! Move," Ralof commanded me and led the way up the tower stairs.

A Stormcloak soldier was just up the stairs ahead. "We just need to move some of these rocks to clear the way," he said as he attempted to clear some of the debris.

Ralof let out a growl as he took a step closer towards the soldier to help when the wall suddenly collapsed inward along with the head of the dragon. The long, scaly arm of the dragon reached in and grabbed the side of the stairs to hold itself up.

"Get back!" Ralof cautioned and pushed me back against the wall in attempt to hide from the dragon's vision.

The slender neck twisted and turned in animated motions like things I only saw in my dreams. It's dark, piercing eyes looked around, calculating where people stood.

" _Their heads are strong and sturdy; their necks are thick and flexible, and their eyes—"_ My father's voice echoed in my head. _"They will be back, my sweet Avery."_

"Toor shul," a voice like thunder cracked the air and fire came blazing out of the dragon's mouth.

"Inferno sun," I murmured to myself in confusion. Did that dragon just speak?

Ralof let out a growl and carefully climbed the stairs where the debris had been cleared instantaneously from the dragon. He motioned for me to follow him and when I reached him he pointed out the large hole in the wall towards the second building just beyond the destroyed building before us. "See the inn on the other side," he asked and I nodded. "Jump through the roof and keep going! We'll follow you when we can!"

"Be careful," I said and looked back out to study how I would need to jump in order to not get hurt.

With a bit of a start, I jumped out from the tower and onto the second floor of the building beside it. I managed to miss the jagged roof beam sticking out and as carefully as I could with bound hands, rolled when my feet touched the ground so as not to injure my legs. When I looked back, Ralof was waving his hands for me to continue onward, so I did. At the other end of the building, the stairs leading to the first floor had been completely torn away, leaving a gaping hole.

I took a quick glance out the window to catch a glimpse of the dragon hovering above a group of archers. The dragon turned his head and for what seemed like an eternity, our eyes connected.

"Why won't it die already," one of the archer's shouted in desperation which caused the dragon's head to turn back to the soldiers. As if annoyed, the dragon swooped down, knocking over the archers and flying up towards the sky.

My eyes widened and I turned back to the gaping hole. I quickly lowered myself to the floor and jumped down through the floor boards, landing in a crouch. The corner of the building was crushed and I managed to maneuver through the debris and made my way outside.

"Haming, you need to get over here now," Hadvar, the man who had read out the prisoner list shouted to a young boy. "Thataboy. You're doing great," he encouraged.

I searched the area for Ralof and Ulfric, but couldn't seem to find them. My eyes rested back on the dragon who flew in a circle and came down before Hadvar and the young boy.

"Torolf! Gods...everyone get back," Hadvar shouted while dragging the boy to the side behind walls that were left behind from another destroyed building. I managed to escape the inferno of fire as I dove to the side to join the others.

"Still alive, prisoner," Hadvar asked, moreso stated. "Keep close to me if you want to stay that way." He turned to other man with them and said, "Gunnar, take care of the boy. I have to find General Tullius and join the defense."

"Gods guide you, Hadvar," Gunnar said bowed his head with respect.

Hadvar nodded before leading on. We passed where the dragon had just landed to attack and turned into a path leading between Helgen's wall and a still intact building.

"Stay close to the wall," Hadvar said to me as we advanced forward.

The both of us stopped and pressed our backs against the wall as the dragon came down and landed atop the wall. Two large black wings came down beside the two of us and we both looked at each other as if to tell each other to "brace yourself".

"Vol toor shul," the voice of the dragon pierced the air once again.

"Horror Inferno Sun," I repeated and looked at Hadvar wide eyed.

An ear-piercing screech came from deep within the dragon's throat as burning flames emitted from the dragon's mouth. The flames seemed much hotter than those from the tower with Ralof. When Hadvar commanded for me to follow after the dragon took to the skies once again, I realized when rounding the corner that the flames burning what was left of the building still burned with the same kind of intense heat that seemed to singe the hairs of my arms.

I ignored the sweat pouring down my face as we moved through the burning walls. I followed Hadvar to the carnage of the main gate where soldiers fired arrows frantically at the dragon in vain, thinking maybe the next arrow would pierce it's hard flesh.

"Tell my family I fought bravely!" I heard one of the soldiers say to no one in particular.

"Hadvar! Into the keep, soldier, we're leaving," General Tullius shouted from a few yards to the north.

"It's you and me, prisoner, stay close," Hadvar said to me and led me towards the keep Tullius was talking about.

Up ahead I could see Ralof running towards us – particularly me.

"Ralof! You damned traitor, out of my way," Hadvar shouted in anger.

"We're escaping, Hadvar! You're not stopping us this time," Ralof declared and reached out for me to go to him.

"Fine. I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde," Hadvar hissed at Ralof.

"You, come on! Into the keep," Ralof shouted over the roar of soldier's at war with the dragon.

Just before entering into the keep, I took one last look back over my shoulder at the destruction and then entered. Ralof closed the door, cutting off my vision from the black dragon and drawing my attention back to him.

"That was close," Ralof whispered and leaned his head against the door.

"Avery," I said after taking a step back to look at him fully. He seemed to have gotten into a little trouble after we parted as seen by his singed clothing and dirt covered body.

He turned his head slowly to look up at me questioningly.

"My name," I said and crossed my arms. "It's Avery."

His mouth opened to say something when his eyes moved past me and he fell silent. My eyes followed him as he made his way over to the fallen Stormcloak soldier.

"We'll meet again in Sovngarde, brother," Ralof said quietly and leaned down to close the eyes of the young looking male. "Looks like we're the only ones who made it."

I uncrossed my arms and let out a soft sigh.

"That thing was a dragon. No doubt," he said and I nodded in agreement. "Just like the children's stories and the legends. The harbingers of the End Times."

I thought back to the bedtime stories my father would tell me all the time. He was the only one I could remember who believed dragons were real and not just something as from children stories. They weren't legends to him, but rather something of history. Mother would try to convince me that he simply hadn't grown out of his childish imagination yet. It wasn't until into my adolescence that I realized my mother had harbored hatred towards father for the shame that he brought to our family name due to his beliefs. When I had reached adulthood, mother took it as a sign to end her suffering and left father and I both, taking with her my younger sister to move back with her parents. Shortly after, a hatred for father's ignorance grew in me but was cut short when he was found murdered one afternoon just outside our village. I chose to forget my mother's abandonment and my father's crazy belief in dragons to start my own life journey with a fresh start of travelling across Tamriel.

"The dragons were prophesied about," I said begrudgingly.

Ralof looked me over slowly before speak softly, "We better get moving. Come here, let me see if I can get those bindings off."

The change of subject eased my mind and I turned my back to give him access to the bindings. I felt his rough hands move about my wrists as he struggled to untie the tight rope.

"There you go," he said and threw the rope to the ground.

I turned back to face him with a thankful smile as I rubbed my sore wrists. The freedom to stretch my arms once again was very much welcomed. Then Ralof's next comment made me freeze.

"May as well take Gunjar's gear."

I moved my eyes up to meet his with clear distaste on my face.

"He won't be needing it anymore," he said simply.

"I may look dirty and grungy but I will not succumb to wearing a dead soldier's garb," I declared with finality.

"And you're going to protect yourself in that roughspun tunic," he asked sarcastically.

I narrowed my eyes at Ralof before turning to Gunjar's body. "Forgive me," I murmured and carefully started pulling the armor off. Ralof helped with the undressing and dressing and then he stepped back to take a look.

"The armor is light, and isn't too big. Good thing Gunjar was a smaller man." Ralof said half apologetically. "Alright, give that axe a few swings. I'm going to see if I can find some way out of here."

"I know how to fight," I murmured as I wielded the axe in my right hand. I gave it a few swings before I spotted a sheathed short sword laying beneath Gunjar.

"That's a little more my style," I whispered to myself and dropped the axe.

"This one's locked," Ralof said at the far door. "Let's see about that gate."

As Ralof made his way to the gate I gave the sword a few swings then nodded. "Much better."

"Damn. No way to open this from our side," Ralof muttered.

"Come on, soldier! Keep moving!" A voice travelled down the hall from beyond the gate.

"It's the Imperials! Take cover," Ralof hissed.

"Get this gate open," a woman demanded.

"Imperial dogs," Ralof shouted when the gate was down and jumped out in front of the soldiers as they entered. With both axes in hands, Ralof whipped them at the soldiers, slitting both of their throats.

First thing I came to know about Ralof was that he was loyal to his leader, the Jarl of Windhelm: Ulfric Stormcloak. Second thing I came to know was that he was very agile with two big, bulky axes. In a one on one, up close fight with this man, I would not win.

"Maybe one of these Imperials has the key," Ralof said and leaned down to begin searching their carcasses. "Here we are, found a key. Let's see if it opens that door."

"You really hate Imperials," I murmured and glanced over my shoulder at the two Imperials bleeding out. He showed no mercy in killing them and searching their dead bodies.

Ralof didn't respond. "That's it! Come on, let's get out of here before the dragon brings the whole tower down on our heads," he only said.

On the other side of the door, we turned left and headed down the staircase. After reaching the bottom and rounding the corner, our run came to a halt as the ground and walls shook. Just before the shaking stopped, the roof just ahead collapsed and caved in.

"Look out!" Ralof grabbed my arm and pulled me back a step to avoid a falling piece of roof. "Damn, that dragon doesn't give up easy."

"Grab everything important and let's move! The dragon is burning everything to the ground," a deep voice came from beyond the door to our left.

Ralof pressed his finger to his lips and moved to the door, opening it up a crack to peer inside.

"Just need to gather some more potions," another man responded.

With one last glance at me, he pushed the door open and ran inside. The two soldiers froze when they saw the two of us but quickly recovered by pulling their weapons from their holsters.

Ralof took the first soldier and I ran past them to the second.

The soldier thrusted his sword straight at me and I used my leg to kick his arm upwards. His grip loosened from the blow and his sword flew out of his hand, clattering to the ground behind us. Before he could realize what had happened, my sword was through his chest.

His mouth opened slightly as blood spilled out the corner of his mouth and he knelt to the ground, weak. As he fell backwards to the ground, I pulled my sword from his chest and moved over to collect the sword I had kicked from his hand.

I didn't hear any more clanging of colliding weapons and turned to search the room for Ralof. He stood over the first soldier peering at me.

"Skilled," he complimented and then looked around. "It's a storeroom. See if you can find any potions. We'll need them."

I nodded and moved over to the soldier I had just killed. He was the one who had mentioned the potions so I searched his body. He had a small pouch hanging around his waist and when I looked inside, I found vials of colourful liquid. I also noticed sitting atop the barrel where the two had originally stood, additional vials. With ease, I untied the pouch from the soldier's waist and tied it back around mine.

"Done? Let's get moving," Ralof said and headed for the other door.

I quickly gathered the additional vials from atop the barrels and carefully placed them in the pouch as I followed after Ralof. We quickly travelled down another step of stairs and rounded the corner.

"Troll's blood! It's a torture room," Ralof exclaimed and shook his head in disgust. "Hear that?"

Just down the short flight of stairs where torture tables and cells were, Stormcloaks fought against the Imperial torturers.

"Come on!" Ralof made his way down the stairs three at a time and ran at one of the Imperial torturers, landing both of his axes in the Imperial's back.

"How did I manage to be caught in the middle of this war between the Stormcloaks and Imperials?" I murmured to myself. Before this, I would only kill when my life was threatened or if the people deserved it. Now I found myself killing simply by associating with the Stormcloaks.

"Is Jarl Ulfric with you," Ralof asked his fellow loyalists once the two Imperials were dead.

"No, I haven't seen him since the dragon showed up," one of the Stormcloak soldiers replied.

"Wait a second," Ralof turned his attention to the middle cage with a dead mage in it. "Looks like there's some things in this cage." He checked the cage door. "It's locked. See if you can get it open with some picks. We might need that gold once we get out."

"Hang on," I interrupted and moved closer to the cage door. I pulled a pin out of my hair and knelt down in front of the lock. "This is my sort of thing," I murmured and inserted the pin into the pinhole. Seconds later the door was opened and I moved into to collect the gold. I also noticed a spell book lying next to the body of the mage.

"Grab anything useful and let's go," Ralof said distractedly, taking one last glance at me before joining the others in looking for anything useful.

I picked the book up and flipped through the pages to look through it. It seemed to be a book on flames. I had always considered learning magic but my mother had always said to leave the magic to the Dunmer.

"We're going on ahead," Ralof said and I turned my head to face him. He motioned after the Stormcloak soldier who had just left and I nodded as he followed after them. I dropped the book and quickly caught up to the others. If I were to study magic, it would have to be another day.

I followed the Stormcloak soldier further down into the earth into an adjoining torture room where decayed bodies hung in cages from the ceiling. I covered my nose in disgust of the smell and followed the others into a tunnel where more cells were.

"This just keeps going!" I murmured. "How far does this tunnel go?"

"They did not want anyone seeing how far their torture goes," one of the Stormcloaks murmured.

"The orders are to wait until General Tullius arrives." Ralof held his hand to stop us from going further when the voice reached us.

"I'm not waiting to be killed by a dragon!" Another voice.

Ralof motioned forward and crouched. The two Stormcloaks snuck past him to peek around the corner.

The leading Stormcloak held up four fingers and motioned forward. The second Stormcloak charged out, pulling his sword from its sheath. Ralof and the other Stormcloak followed suit, and then myself.

Had it been me by myself, I would have snuck past them, but that was clearly not how the Stormcloaks worked. While the Stormcloaks occupied the attention of three of the Imperials, the fourth Imperial stood far back with a bow and arrow. His attention was on Ralof, so I used that as an advantage as I moved around the outside wall and over to the Imperial.

Just as I reached him, he turned his attention to me and aimed his arrow at my head. Just before he let the arrow go, I ducked out of the way and swooped my foot around to knocked him off his feet. As he fell I grabbed the bow out of his hand and cracked it like a whip down on his windpipe. With a snap, it broke and his body tried gasping vainly for air.

"Let's go on ahead - see if the way is clear," Ralof said, coming up behind me. "Let's see where this goes."

Just beyond the open doorway, there was a narrow bridge leading further into the tunnel.

"Stay close," Ralof said, looking back at me and the others.

As we cautiously crossed the narrow bridge, I could hear something shift above us and I managed to push Ralof and myself over to the other side of the bridge before the roof caved in.

I groaned in pain, feeling like my leg had broke. I rolled off Ralof and laid beside him, taking in a deep breath.

"No going back that way, now," Ralof coughed and pulled himself up to sit. "Are you okay?"

I nodded slowly and sat up as well. Thankfully, my leg hadn't broken but it killed to stretch my foot.

"We'd better push on. The rest of them will have to find another way out," Ralof said, now on his feet and grabbing my hand to help me up.

"Are you sure you're alright." Ralof asked as I stretched my foot a little more.

I nodded. "I'm going to have a nasty bruise. I think a rock might have hit my ankle or something."

"If we make it out, I'll take a better look," Ralof said.

I shook my head in protest. "It's good. I can walk," I said and bounced a bit to reassure him. "See?"

Ralof sighed and shook his head. "Women," he murmured and led the way down along the stream.

We reached the end of the stream and found that the rocks narrowed inward to a tight squeeze.

"I guess we'd better try this way," Ralof said and led the way down another tunnel.

As we advanced down the tunnel we began running into thick webs.

"I guess it makes sense for insects to inhabit these tunnels," I murmured and sighed.

"Blunt force is the best way to kill them," Ralof stated.

"I prefer from a distance with a bow and arrow," I argued.

After we broke through the thick wall of spider webs, we found ourselves in the den of the arachnids. Four large spiders lowered themselves from the roof and started towards us.

"Blunt force if the best way to kill them when you don't have a bow and arrow," Ralof smirked and charged at the giant arachnids.

I sighed with regret at not taking the soldier's bow and arrow whom I had just previously killed, even if the bow had been slightly disfigured from breaking the soldier's windpipe.

Once the spiders were slain, Ralof continued his way through the tunnels, pulling thick silky threads off his body. "I hate those damn things. Too many eyes, you know?"

I nodded with exaggeration. "Definitely."

"Hold up," Ralof whispered as we approached the opening to a large cavernous area. "There's a bear just ahead. See her?"

I nodded.

"I'd rather not tangle with her right now. Let's try to sneak by. Just take it nice and slow, and watch where you step."

I began to slowly crouch towards along the wall when Ralof grabbed my arm to stop me. "Or if you're feeling lucky, you can take this bow." He held out a long bow and a quiver with a dozen arrows.

I glanced at him and eagerly took the bow and arrows off his hands.

"Might take her by surprise. Go ahead. I'll follow your lead and watch your back."

I rolled my eyes as I pulled the quiver's band over my shoulder to secure it onto my back. Quietly, and steady, I drew an arrow from the quiver and aimed it at the bear.

"You seem familiar with a bow," Ralof whispered.

I smirked and drew the string of the bow back gently. The bear's back was to the both of us, with its head facing the wall of the cave. It seemed to be resting but the twitching of its ears indicated it was still awake and listening.

With a gentle exhale, I released the arrow. There would be no sneaking out of here. Ralof's mouth widened slightly.

"An expert archer?" He breathed.

The arrow sliced cleanly through the air and entered through the soft spot behind the ear of the bear, right through the head and out the eye socket.

I shrugged. "My father started to teach me when I was five," I explained. "This is the wood elves specialty."

"Clearly!" Ralof said as he stood. "Incredible."

"That looks like the way out," I said and pointed towards where light flooded into the cave.

"I knew we'd make it," Ralof said with a grin.

"Freedom," I breathed as we exited the cave and stretched for optimal access to the sunlight.

"Wait," Ralof gasped and pulled me down behind a rock. "There he goes."

" _Beautiful,"_ I thought to myself as I watched the dragon fly gracefully through the sky. Its jet black scales stood out from the bright blue sky. There was no way anybody could miss something as black as that dragon flying through the sky. It was only a matter of days before all of Skyrim would hear the news about the dragons' return from the grave, and that the stories were truly a part of history.

"Looks like he's gone for good this time," Ralof murmured and breathed in deeply. He turned back towards Helgen and placed his hands on his hips. "No way to know if anyone else made it out alive, but this place is going to be swarming with Imperials soon enough. We'd better clear out of here."

"I'm actually pretty new to Skyrim," I mentioned. "Where are you off to?"

"My sister Gerdur runs the mill in Riverwood, just up the road," he replied. "I'm sure she'd help you out. It's probably best if we split up," he began walking up the path. "I wouldn't have made it without your help today. You know, you should go Windhelm and join the fight to free Skyrim. You've seen the true face of the Empire here today. If anyone will know what the coming of dragon means, it's Ulfric."

Without leaving me much time to respond, Ralof turned to run down the pathway. "Ulfric," I whispered to myself. "I have to remember that name." Realizing that I had no idea where I was, I decided to follow Ralof after all and called after him to wait up.


	2. Chapter 2

Ralof looked back over his shoulder at me and slowed his pace to a walk. "Splitting up would be the best plan of action," Ralof repeated. "I'm not trying to get rid of you but the both of us coming from Helgen's direction may look suspicious to the Imperials."

"I think news of the dragon will have them more concerned," I argued. "With the amount of destruction that went on in Helgen, I think the list of prisoners would be the least of their worries."

"Imperials are ruthless," Ralof stated and shrugged. "Dragon or not; as long as they put down those who oppose them…"

I shrugged, mostly out of lack of knowledge for the Imperials. Politics truly was not my forte. So long as people needed things done, I would be able to live my life. I had considered exploring Skyrim at a later time in my life since I had heard that there was civil unrest, but the stories I had heard were not concerning at that time. Unforeseeable circumstances did delay my visit to Skyrim by half a year, so I suppose civil unrest could change quite drastically within that time frame.

When I found out that Skyrim's civil unrest had entered into a full war, I had contemplated changing my plans when I realized that war was only a reality of anywhere I could possibly go. All you needed were two parties who disagreed and things could get ugly quickly. Besides, war was not something I haven't already been exposed to in other provinces of Tamriel.

"Alright, then," I said quietly. "We'll just keep low key."

As we made our way down the winding path, I took in the beauty of Skyrim. Everything about Skyrim seemed to fresh and vivid. The colours of nature were so rich with the bright sun reflecting off their surfaces. Beyond the tree tops, mountains edged upwards towards the sky with white covering their tops; a contrast to the variety of colour littering the path Ralof and I walked upon.

"See that ruin up there?" Ralof asked, pointing at a small break in the mountain, inches above the tree tops, where old ruins remained still intact.

I nodded as I glanced at him and back up to the ruins before they disappeared behind the dense population of leaves blowing gently in the breeze.

"Bleak Falls Barrow," Ralof said. "I never understood how my sister could stand living in the shadow of that place. I guess you get used to it."

"What's so bad about it?" I asked as we followed the curve of the path and down between the rising, earthen walls that formed on either side of us.

"It's where the Nords buried their dead long ago," Ralof explained.

"So it's a tomb," I said with a shrug. "Are you superstitious?"

Ralof shook his head, and his face grew still with a stoney look ahead. "Superstition does not cover the dead rising from their graves."

Though my feet kept pace beside Ralof, my mind paused at the thought of the dead rising in their graves. My mother was always over-protective and strived to keep my childish head from anything macabre. I was a girl that would grow up prim and proper, who would marry a man, take care of the home and raise our children just as proper. Naïve was really how my mother wanted me to live life.

Even though the dragon I had just witnessed with my own eyes proved that my father's stories had more weight to them, dead rising in their graves seemed just as much a story as the dragons were, once upon a time. Once upon a time…

Ralof's voice invaded my thoughts. "These are the Guardian Stones, three of the thirteen ancient standing stones across Skyrim. Go ahead, see for yourself."

My eyes studied the rock platform and the three smooth stones, each with their own carvings. They each stood equal distances away from each other near the edges of the platform, all looking in towards the centre.

"Mage, warrior, and thief," Ralof said.

"Thirteen?" I clarified as I moved up the two short steps onto the platform for a closer look.

"There are thirteen standing stones," Ralof restated.

"Mage, warrior and thief," I rolled the words over in my mouth and smiled cleverly. "These stones correspond to the constellations," I said, being proud of myself for retaining this information.

Before I entered into each province, I often tried to read up on as much history or information as I could. I would visit the largest libraries in the province I was currently visiting, a week before I planned to move on to the next province, and learn as many random facts as I could.

"When you pledge yourself to a certain stone, it is said that the constellations will guide you," Ralof explained and crossed his arms. "What would you choose?"

A smile crept across my face as I crouched down to level my eyes with the three carvings on the three stones. Mage, warrior, or thief. Considering that way I had been currently living my life, it seemed the most sensible to choose the thief stone.

I rose to my feet and turned to face Ralof with a smile. Without looking at the stones, I brought my right arm up and placed it upon the thief stone. Before I could say what clever comment had entered my mind, I was immediately taken aback when a light descended from the heavens and struck the top of the stone. As soon as my peripherals registered the light, I had immediately drawn my hand back to my chest and jumped back. Within the hollow circle, in the top portion of the stone, the light collected into a ball and then dissipated almost as quickly.

Ralof only chuckled. "Thief, eh? It's never too late to take charge of your own fate, you know."

I scanned the stone carefully one last time before I climbed back down the two steps and returned to Ralof's side.

"Some people argue the stones don't work, but I'd argue they didn't truly accept the signs of the stone," he said as he led on once again.

I only shook my head. As far as I could tell, I hadn't pressed any buttons that would have called down light from nowhere and collected it into a perfectly round sphere. That light itself was enough to make me believe the stones had some supernatural power.

"Anyways, we're almost to Riverwood, come on." Ralof continued up the path.

When we approached the gates of Riverwood, Ralof spoke again. "Remember, this isn't Stormcloak territory," he said. "If we're ahead of the news from Helgen, we should be fine as long as we don't do anything stupid. If we run into any Imperials, just let me do the talking, alright?"

I nodded and fell in one step behind him as we entered through the gates. There was one Imperial guard patrolling along the main path between the buildings, but his back was towards us.

"Looks like nobody here knows what happened yet. Come on. Gerdur's probably working in her lumber mill," he said and stepped onto a small wooden bridge that extended across fast moving waters to the other side where the said mill was.

I followed, but my mind went to the commotion back behind us. An older woman pointed to the skies, shouting, "A dragon! I saw a dragon!"

"What?" A younger looking man approached the older woman, taking her arm gently into his hand. "What is it now, mother?"

"It was as big as the mountain, and black as night!" Her arm lowered slightly to point towards Bleak Falls Barrow, the one Ralof had pointed out to me earlier. "It flew right over the barrow."

" _News of Helgen might not have reached here, but the dragon was too hard to miss,"_ I thought to myself.

Ralof was looking around the mill for his sister when he spotted her across the way, on the side from where we were.

"Gerdur!" He shouted over the grind of wood being pushed along the rotating saw blade making the terrible screeching noise.

We quickly approached the beautiful blonde haired woman who leaned over a wooden table, scribbling something onto a small piece of paper. She hadn't heard Ralof call her name, so when she notice the two of us approach her, she turned slowly to greet us. She gasped when she realized who it was.

"Brother! Mara's mercy, it's good to see you," she exclaimed and clasped her hands together as if to thank the gods before embracing her brother tightly.

"Gerdur," Ralof began but Gerdur's voice butted in.

"But is it safe for you to be here? We heard that Ulfric had been captured," she said and glanced around, probably to check for any Imperials milling about.

"Gerdur, I'm fine," Ralof said and then paused. "At least now I am."

"Are you hurt," Gerdur asked as she examined Ralof carefully. She didn't give any time for Ralof to answer, but carried on. "What happened? And who's this? One of your comrades?" Her piercing blue eyes eyed me suspiciously.

"Not a comrade yet, but a friend," Ralof replied and placed his hand gently over my shoulder. "This is Avery; I owe her my life."

"Well," Gerdur breathed and turned to me with a smile. "Thank you for whatever assistance you gave my brother to ensure his safety."

I shrugged slightly and laughed. "It goes both ways." If it hadn't been for Ralof, there was a very slim chance I would have made it out myself in one piece.

"Is there somewhere we can talk? There's no telling when the news from Helgen will reach the Imperials," Ralof said, suddenly very serious.

"Helgen," Gerdur asked quietly. "Has something happened?"

Both Ralof and I were nodding our heads, our eyes portraying the seriousness of the situation clearly. It seemed to make Gerdur slightly uncomfortable, but she nodded her head as if to say, "Alright."

"Follow me," she said and turned her face up to the top of the mill where a man was preparing another log for the blade. "Hod! Come here a minute. I need your help with something."

"What is it, woman," the big burly man shouted back without breaking from moving the log down off the pile and into position before the blade. "Sven drunk on the job again?"

"Hod, just come here," she shouted back.

Hod finally turned around to peer down from the platform. His mouth was open, ready to protest when his eyes rested on Ralof.

"Ralof! What are you doing here?" His voice seemed to have been revitalized. "Ahh, I'll be right down."

Gerdur turned to guide us from the mill over to an open patch of land that came to a peak where the two rivers on either side met. A lonely tree remained at the peak, standing tall, though its end was soon to come, being right next door to a saw mill.

"Uncle Ralof," a young voice gained victory over the raging waters, drawing our attention back towards the saw mill where we saw a young boy come barreling towards us.

The child barely gave Ralof any time to speak before he bombarded Ralof with endless questions. "Can I see your axe? How many Imperials have you killed? Do you really know Ulfric Stormcloak?"

"Hush, Frodnar," Gerdur stepped in to calm the child. "This is no time for your games. Go and watch the south road. Come find us if you see any Imperial soldiers coming."

"Aw, mama," Frodnar whined. "I wanna stay and talk with Uncle Ralof!"

"Look at you, almost a grown man," Ralof chimed in as he swooped Frodnar up into the air. "Won't be very long before you'll be joining the fight yourself; you're getting quite heavy."

"That's right," Frodnar stated matter-of-factly once Ralof put him back on his feet. "Don't worry, Uncle Ralof, I won't let those soldiers sneak up on you."

Ralof smiled proudly as he ruffled his nephew's hair. Frodnar smiled back and then turned to do as his mother commanded: to go and watch the south road. As he walked away, he took out the iron dagger he had hidden under his shirt and pretended to stab at imaginary enemies.

"He's grown so much since that last time I saw him," Ralof said to Gerdur and grinned. "He's turning into a handsome man just like your brother."

Gerdur rolled her eyes. "And just as reckless."

"Now, Ralof, what's going on," Hod came strolling up behind us, placing his thick hand on Ralof's left shoulder as he passed. "You two look pretty well done in."

"I can't remember when I last slept," Ralof said and shook his head. "Where to start?"

Hod moved to his wife's side to listen.

"Well, the news you heard about Ulfric was true. The Imperials ambushed us outside Darkwater Crossing, like they knew exactly where we'd be - that was two days ago, now," Ralof explained; this was the first time I heard what was truly going on when I happened to be caught in the crossfire. "We stopped in Helgen this morning, and I thought it was all over. Had us lined up to the headsman's block and ready to start chopping."

"The cowards," Gerdur gasped and shook her head angrily.

"They wouldn't dare give Ulfric a fair trial. Treason, for fighting for your own people! All of Skyrim would've seen the truth then. But then, out of nowhere...a dragon attacked!" Ralof raised his hands with exaggeration and barred his teeth, as if to mimic the dragon.

The sudden introduction of dragons caught both Gerdur and Hod off guard.

"You don't mean a real, live…" Gerdur's voice trailed off.

"I can hardly believe it myself - and I was there," Ralof said and then laughed. "As strange as it sounds, Avery and I would be dead if not for that dragon. In the confusion, we managed to slip away."

"The gods are on our side," Hod said and laughed as well.

"Are we really the first to make it to Riverwood," Ralof asked.

"Nobody else has come up the south road today, as far as I know," Gerdur replied.

"Good," Ralof breathed. "Maybe we can lay up for a while. I hate to put your family in danger, Gerdur, but –"

"Nonsense!" Gerdur brought Ralof's apology to a halt. "You and your friend are welcome to stay here as long as you need to. Let me worry about the Imperials."

"I couldn't impose," I said awkwardly, raising my hands in protest.

Gerdur shook her head and placed her hands on her hips. "Any friend of Ralof's is a friend of mine." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a ring with several keys dangling from it. She unhooked a single key and handed it over to me. "Here's a key to the house. Stay as long as you like. If there's anything else you need, just let me know."

I tried to verbally protest, but no intelligible words would come out, so I stood defeated. This woman was strong-headed, and I had the impression that when she set her mind to something, she did not back down. By giving me her house key, she was placing a lot of trust in me.

"There must be something I can do to repay the favour," I finally said as I placed the key safely into the pocket of the Stormcloak soldiers armor. I offered up a suggestion. "I can help around the mill."

"There is something you can do for me. For all of us here," she said and smiled. "The Jarl needs to know if there's a dragon on the loose. Riverwood is defenseless without his help."

I nodded. "You want me to get word to the Jarl about the dragon."

"We need to get word to Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun to send whatever soldiers he can. If you'll do that for me, I'll be in your debt," Gerdur said, clasping her hands together like she was begging.

I smiled and nodded. "We'll be even," I corrected.

"Thanks, sister. I knew I could count on you." Ralof said to Gerdur and hugged her tightly.

"I ought to get back to work before I'm missed, but...did anyone else escape? Did Ulfric…" Gerdur's eyes showed signs of worry.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he made it out," Ralof said. "It would take more than a dragon to stop Ulfric Stormcloak." Even though Gerdur seemed reassured by this, I could tell that Ralof was trying to reassure himself, as if saying it made it true.

"I'll let them into the house, and, you know, show them where everything is," Hod said and rubbed Gerdur's back lovingly.

Gerdur rolled her eyes. "Help them drink up our mead, you mean," she muttered.

Hod chuckled and leaned in to kiss his wife on the cheek.

"Good luck, brother. I'll see you later," Gerdur said as she stuck her hand out to touch her brother's arm affectionately.

"Don't worry about me. I know how to lay low." Ralof grinned.

Gerdur nodded and, with a big breath outwards, walked past her brother to make her way back to the saw mill.

"I told you my sister would help us out," Ralof said, his grin unwavering.

"Come on," Hod said, placing his arms over both mine and Ralof's shoulders.

It was only a few minutes' walk from the saw mill to Hod and Gerdur's house, which seemed to be the largest house in Riverwood. Along the way, Hod pointed out to me the different services of Riverwood; the Sleeping Giant Inn, which was run by a woman named Delphine and a man named Orgnar; the Riverwood Trader, run by Lucan Valerius; Alvor and Sigrid's house lay on this side of the river across from the saw mill, and they were the local blacksmith; he pointed out a couple villager's homes, and then the guard's camp with distaste, before we landed upon the front yard of their own house, guarded by a small wicker fence.

"Come on," Hod said and walked from the cobble path to the wooden deck at his front door. "What's ours is yours."

"I very much appreciate your hospitality," I said as I entered the front door.

Hod laughed a hearty laugh and closed the door behind us. "Don't be so modest!"

Inside, the house was open with high ceilings. It was clean and organized and, despite the lack of walls, the separate areas were clearly defined. To the left, just inside the door was the dining table, set with three chairs. Directly across from the front door was cooking area set with a fireplace, cooking pot and prep table along with a section of the structure beam being used to hang-dry small game and herbs. At the far corner of the house was a small, single bed – which I assumed was Frodnar's – and just around the corner I could see what looked like a small bar. Further past the corner, where I couldn't see, I imagined Hod and Gerdur's own bedroom.

"Food," Ralof breathed with a longing smile as his eyes scanned the hanging rabbits and pheasants. The loud growl of a starving stomach then emitted from Ralof's middle, causing a silence to fall over the three of us.

Hod let out another hearty laugh and slapped Ralof on the shoulder. "Can't be letting our favourite soldier die of starvation," he declared and then said, "Have a seat."

Ralof and I took a seat across from each other at the dining table while Hod made his way to the prep table and began reaching for different ingredients, including one of the dangling rabbits.

"Do you like rabbit," Hod asked me.

I nodded. "Yes."

"It's my favourite," Ralof said and sighed loudly. "I've been craving rabbit for days now."

"I would make rabbit stew but I'm missing a few ingredients, plus Gerdur is far better at making stew than I am – she has so much more patience," Hod said and turned to grin. "Rabbit haunches are my specialty, and it's much faster to make."

"Faster is better, my stomach says," Ralof said and grinned back.

I nodded, finally feeling the toll of a day's worth of not eating. I thought I had eaten not too long ago but I remembered that last time I ate was at the Inn I had slept in the previous night, and that was at breakfast this past morning.

Now that I felt my hunger, it seemed like an eternity before the rabbit haunches were finished. It was hard to concentrate on Hod and Ralof's conversation, especially since it was mostly them catching up on life. When I started to find my way in their conversation, they would introduce a new name or location that I had no knowledge of and then I was lost again. The hunger pains in my stomach, growing more painful, made it even more difficult to pay attention.

As soon as I heard Hod declare the food was ready, my attention instantly caught and I could feel my salivary glands working in overtime. The beautiful smell of garlic filled my nose cavity and I imagined my eyes bulged from my head when Hod placed my plate in front of me: two decent sized rabbit haunches to the left, grilled leeks to the upper right, and a couple wedges from an eidar cheese wheel to the lower right.

"Perfect!" Ralof declared with his first bite. "Delicious as ever!"

Hod laughed aloud as he dished out a small plate of his own. I thought that maybe Hod had eaten not too long ago since the amount covering his plate was not enough to feed someone of his stature.

"Agreed," I sighed happily and took my second bite.

Hod grinned and picked at his leeks. "As I said, my specialty."

Conversation about Helgen came to dominate the mealtime discussion, along with the politics of the civil war, so I quietly ate away at my plate. When mention of Valenwood was mentioned, my attention peaked and I realized Hod had turned to talk to me.

"P-pardon," I asked awkwardly, feeling my cheek grow hotter for not paying attention.

"You're from Valenwood, correct," Hod asked.

I nodded and placed my fork down on my plate.

"Did your family come with you to Skyrim," he asked.

I shook my head. "My father died a few years back, and my mother and younger sister moved back with her parents."

"You're here by yourself, then," Hod clarified.

I nodded. "I decided after my father died to travel across Tamriel, to visit the different provinces."

"That's a mighty adventure," Ralof said and smiled.

"Adventure was my drive," I replied and stuffed more leeks into my mouth.

"Seems like you got the adventure you bargained for," Hod joked.

I swallowed and then smiled. "Like you wouldn't believe," I muttered.

I use to argue to myself about why I was so driven to visit every province in Tamriel and I came to the conclusion that, deep inside, I craved the answer to my father's madness. If the thing that murdered my father was in fact truth, I would bring the news to his murderers and demand restitution. If nothing came up, then I would come to grips that my father was mad. However, the dragon at Helgen, witnessed by nearly one hundred people, of which there were only two survivors, and an elderly woman, which her own son thought she was seeing things, was the first step in proving my father's sanity. Since the only two people who survived Helgen were myself and Ralof, more proof would be needed.

Shortly after the three of us had finished eating, Gerdur and Frodnar returned in for the night. I felt the awkwardness dawning on me about how the sleeping arrangements would be made, so while the others were talking, I questioned Ralof about it.

He passed the question off with a wave and laughed at the joke Frodnar had been telling. "Gerdur made a deal with Orgnar at the Sleeping Giant Inn. We can stay there for the night."

I looked over at Gerdur who was laughing along with Frodnar. I had to give it to her that she was considerate for thinking ahead. While I wouldn't have argued about sleeping on the floor, I would have much preferred a bed. Gerdur must have thought the same thing.

Shortly after Frodnar was put to bed, which I was surprised at how fast he fell asleep, Ralof and I excused ourselves from Gerdur and Hod's presence and made our way to the Sleeping Giant Inn.

"I'm beat," Ralof yawned and held the door open for me to enter first.

Inside, I was met with a blast of heat from the large fire pit in the middle of the inn. Not too many people seemed to be around; aside from the man and woman who shared a table on the other side of the room, the only other person was a man who stood behind the bar counter. I thought that this man must be the Orgnar Hod had mentioned earlier.

As Ralof and I approached the man, I noticed the closer we got just how fit this man was. He wore worn, dirty white clothing but he didn't seem to care the least about them. When we closed in, the man lifted his eyes from the papers before him.

"Ralof," the man called with a grin.

"Orgnar! How has it been?" Ralof leaned over the counter to roughly grabbed Orgnar's shoulder.

"Quiet lately, but good!"

Ralof laughed. "That's soon to change."

I looked Orgnar over, wondering if the woman he ran the Inn with was his lover. With his strong features and rigged jaw, he seemed to be one girls would swoon over. But then he spoke.

"Whose this?" Orgnar turned to me. His voice was hard and uninterested and it made me wonder how he managed to keep any customers at all.

"This is Avery," Ralof said and patted my shoulder.

"Ah," Orgnar said. "Gerdur mentioned you'd be staying here for the night."

I smiled politely.

"Over there." Orgnar pulled out a key with his right hand and pointed with his left to the right. "Keep it clean, hm?"

My expression fell blank and I took the key. He produced another key for Ralof and smiled at him.

"Good to see you again, man," he said.

"You too!"

I had already reached the bedroom door when Ralof came up beside me.

"Gerdur said that we could meet them for breakfast," he said as I unlocked the bedroom door.

Once unlocked, I turned my head to look up at him. "I think I might head out early – try to get to Whiterun before the day begins."

Ralof gave a look of understanding. "Thank you for doing this."

"I don't mind, really," I assured him and smiled softly.

He smiled back and I stepped into the room.

"Goodnight," I said and began to close the door.

Ralof's big hand caught the door before it closed and he opened it again. His face went blank, as if to reflect the way his mind had went. He shook his head then and reached up to scratch the back of his neck.

"I, uh…" He cleared his throat. "Take the north gate out, and after the bridge, follow the pathway to the right – it's the fastest way to Whtierun."

I smiled politely again and grabbed the knob of the door. "Thank you."

"I hope to see you in Windhelm," he said suddenly and smiled awkwardly.

"I will add it to my map," I said, not really sure of what to say.

"Good luck. May the gods watch over your battles, friend," he said.

With a nodded, he stepped back to let me close the door. I listened until I heard the boards under his feet creak, indicating him walking away, and then locked the door.

I let out a sigh and turned my eyes on the bed at the right corner of the room. I could feel the exhaustion of the day dawning on me but I knew with these running thoughts flowing through my head that sleep would be difficult to fall into.

It took me five minutes to pull off all the Stormcloak armor, along with the roughspun tunic I still wore beneath. Every bit of it was dirt covered and there was a blood stain of Gunjar's that was left behind on the armor that now looked like a mere mud stain.

'As soon as I get to Whiterun, I will visit the blacksmith for something cleaner,' I thought as I crawled into the pre-made bed with its especially soft bearskin blankets.

It took a while to ease my mind of the day's events. By one simple mistake of taking the wrong path, my life was thrown into the adventure that I had sought, but also worried about. I guess adventure is one thing you can't just ease yourself into: it either happens, or it doesn't. When I thought that my life had come to its end at the chopping block, it was like my father had a way of protecting me even from beyond the grave. The one thing that everyone had looked down on him for was the one thing that had come to my rescue at the most crucial moment.

There was no easing into this adventure, so I decided, starting tomorrow, I would take it by its horns and ride it into the future.

I had a feeling Skyrim would be my home for the next while.


End file.
